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Harry_Worth

Dead Panerai and other reps

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Harry_Worth

I had been using a Bell and Ross rep purchased from Lawrence  over what must have been several years - my 1st rep and I was rather impressed with its timekeeping and reliability. On the back of this experience I bought a 40mm Panerai homage from Military time which also gave good service. A vintage sub and then a Rolex Sea dweller was acquired but it had a wonky dial so into the top drawer it went. The Bell and Ross suddenly started to stop so was quickly consigned to the top drawer and then shortly afterwards the Panerai went the same way. I'd really loved the Panerai so I purchased an identical one to replace it. Its life was however rather shorter, expiring after just six months. I purchased a Laco rather disillusioned with rep watches. My conclusion with reps is that you really need to be able to do work on them yourself even at a low level otherwise the costs spiral out of control. I must currently  have circa £500 worth of dead watch in the top drawer which is probably a good down payment on a genuine Bell and Ross or a Tudor Black Bay. With this in mind I'm considering trying to replace the movements in say the Panerai. I've studied the Military time website and they supply just the movements (Mechanical Automatic movement MM76 ) which I guess are the ones used in my Panerai albeit the date is black on white rather than white on black date text. Is there a better version of the movement I could substitute for reliability? Is it a practical proposition for a novice to undertake this task?

Mg4KAW.jpg

 

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greg_r

You've been unlucky. I've had well over 100 reps through my hands over the years and had very few problems (although I steer clear of A7750s for the most part, which has a bearing).

I've had as many problems with quality gens as I've had with reps

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BadApple

They retail at about $80 anyway so you may well be better looking at an actual rep Panerai with a decent movement in.

Some TD's have some models on offer - all of my PAM's (8) have been bought for less than $150 but have been $300 models and have all bar one never missed a beat.

The one that did stick was resolved by dropping from chest height onto a carpeted floor and it's worked ever since. Not recommended but if yours is dead you have nothing to lose. 

 

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narikaa

Alternatively 

 

get them fixed

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GenTLe

Get them fixed or sell them with discount mate.

By the way, that PAm164 uses a 7750, not a cheap handwind. I also had to sacrify a 7750 to fix mine who had consumed one of the autowind gears.

And yes, it's good to be able to fix them, because quite a good amount of them need some form of care before or later.

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iabounty

Take the back off and inspect with magnifying glass. I have had several problems with an arm hair (or insert the hair of your choice here) causing the problem.

And you fixed it in 15 minutes at no additional cost.  :beer:

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Harry_Worth
On 11/20/2017 at 14:39, greg_r said:

You've been unlucky. I've had well over 100 reps through my hands over the years and had very few problems (although I steer clear of A7750s for the most part, which has a bearing).

I've had as many problems with quality gens as I've had with reps

Hi Greg, what's the movement likely to be in my two Panerai. The site sells an MM76 which is the only automatic movement. If I can find an equivalent I'd like to have a go at replacing it with a better movement. The case and dial I really like so if I can repair them I'd like to go down this path plus there's a personal satisfaction in the achievement. I appreciate they are a budget rep but I feel it's worth spending some money resurrecting them.

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Left Coast Guy

I've not been around as long as Greg, but from what I've seen, more often then not when stories like this pop up, there's 1 of 2 causes -- either the person bought the cheapest watches they could find, or they did something to damage the mov'ts. Given the watches you outlined and the costs all-in, I'd have to think you might have bought crap to begin with, hence why it didn't last very long. 

My starting point advice for all folks new to the hobby is to buy high-end reps for your first purchases  -- you can't buy the crap reps that most members here would never touch, then base your view of the hobby on that stuff.  Just for context, a good rep these days runs for 220-250 pounds -- I get that's not cheap, but you are getting a higher level of quality for that extra cost. 

In terms of reliability, I'd suggest getting a hand-wind Panerai. It uses a 6497 mov't that you'll need to wind every few days, but the mov'ts are darn near bulletproof. 

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IamWatching
On 11/20/2017 at 14:39, greg_r said:

You've been unlucky. I've had well over 100 reps through my hands over the years and had very few problems (although I steer clear of A7750s for the most part, which has a bearing).

I've had as many problems with quality gens as I've had with reps

how about the A4130 movement - what would your thoughts be on this?

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Harry_Worth
11 hours ago, Left Coast Guy said:

I've not been around as long as Greg, but from what I've seen, more often then not when stories like this pop up, there's 1 of 2 causes -- either the person bought the cheapest watches they could find, or they did something to damage the mov'ts. Given the watches you outlined and the costs all-in, I'd have to think you might have bought crap to begin with, hence why it didn't last very long. 

My starting point advice for all folks new to the hobby is to buy high-end reps for your first purchases  -- you can't buy the crap reps that most members here would never touch, then base your view of the hobby on that stuff.  Just for context, a good rep these days runs for 220-250 pounds -- I get that's not cheap, but you are getting a higher level of quality for that extra cost. 

In terms of reliability, I'd suggest getting a hand-wind Panerai. It uses a 6497 mov't that you'll need to wind every few days, but the mov'ts are darn near bulletproof. 

Yes, on the Panerai you're absolutely correct - they were cheap ($80 each). The first one however did good service as did the Bell and Ross. They must have given around  four years between them and were worn fairly constantly so all in all good value. They got me hooked as a newb. The cases are pretty good hence I am now interested in rebuilding them. 

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Harry_Worth
On 11/20/2017 at 20:22, GenTLe said:

Get them fixed or sell them with discount mate.

By the way, that PAm164 uses a 7750, not a cheap handwind. I also had to sacrify a 7750 to fix mine who had consumed one of the autowind gears.

And yes, it's good to be able to fix them, because quite a good amount of them need some form of care before or later.

So I need a couple of 7750 movements? The movement that Military Time sells is the MM76 - a clone of the 7750 then?

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GenTLe

Nope: if you paid less than 250$ they are not 7750.
Better to get new (good) ones...

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Left Coast Guy

I wouldn't bother fixing them....it would cost more for service than to just pick up something new. And why fix up a turd and expect that you'll like it?  Just jump in and get something nice, you won't regret it. 

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Harry_Worth
On 11/23/2017 at 17:29, Left Coast Guy said:

I wouldn't bother fixing them....it would cost more for service than to just pick up something new. And why fix up a turd and expect that you'll like it?  Just jump in and get something nice, you won't regret it. 

Yep, much as I like the turds I've treated myself to a Bell and Ross from Kursavit. It has the Miyoto movement as per the one in my Laco

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TRANSPORTER

so what you doing with your top drawer full of broken reps?

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Xpletiv

Think you need a fire sale before they are forgotten about and then tossed years later.

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